


Eyes of Emerald and Gold

by Astoria Gracewell (arh581958)



Series: #MalecWeek [14]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Ilvermorny, Alternate Universe - Magic, Day 2 - Crossover!AU, Harry Potter References, Ilvermorny, Ilvermorny House - Horned Serpent, Ilvermorny House - Pukwudgie, Ilvermorny House - Thunderbird, Ilvermorny House - Wampus, M/M, Malec, Malec Week, Malec Week 2017, Snippets, Sorting Ceremony, Wands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 05:34:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11396367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arh581958/pseuds/Astoria%20Gracewell
Summary: Alec had always dreamed of becoming a ferocious Gryffindor. He's heard stories courage, loyalty, and bravery while growing up. Now, imagine his disappointment when he received the invitation to attend theAmericanschool for magic.(Or: Alec's sorting ceremony at Ilvermorny!)





	Eyes of Emerald and Gold

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Malec Week July 2017. Day 2 - Crossover!AU.
> 
> A big thank you to TYME for beta-reading this! Mwah! Mwah!

_ PROLOGUE _

Growing up, Alexander ‘Alec’ Lightwood dreamed of becoming a lion. No, not an  _ actual _ , lion—although a lion as an animagus sounded awesome—but that of the red and gold kind that symbolized the Gryffindor House. He grew up hearing many tales of the great wizarding school in the mountainous highlands of Scotland from his mother Maryse, a Ravenclaw. 

If perhaps their grandfather Andrew hadn’t chosen to immigrate after marrying his American wife, Phoebe nee Gladstone, then perhaps Robert might have been in Slytherin House. Another wizarding school accepted students who came from all-over North America. This one was located in Mount Greyback, Massachusetts. 

Imagine Alec’s disappointment when he received the invitation to attend Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on his eleventh birthday. He cried for ten days straight and refused to go shopping on Angel Boulevard. In the end, he merely borrowed his father’s old Quintana-made wand with a serpent-scale core from Arkansas’ great white river monsters. It wouldn’t matter anyway since Ilvermorny was known for its wandless magic methodology. Wands, after all, were a  _ British  _ invention. 

“Dad is a Thunderbird,” Jace Wayland, Alec’s next door neighbor and best friend, whispered excitedly despite the instructions of the faculty to preserve silence for the solemn occasion. “I wanna be a Thunderbird too!” 

“I don’t think it works like that, Jace,” replied Alec, “and we need to be quiet, the teacher said we shouldn’t talk.” 

Jace rolled his eyes. “Nobody listens to that rule. Look at all of them.” He pointed to the balconies above them. 

The older students were all huddled together, peering over the balcony railings. Their blue and red robes made it near-impossible to distinguish the houses. Their the boisterous applause of the upper batches echoed through the acoustics of the cylindrical hall.

In the middle of the circular room, a Gordian Knot was engraved onto the marble floor. The room had a single door which the Alec and his fellow first-years entered in. At the far end, four large animal statues stood. 

“These carved animals behind me are imbued with spirit of our great founders; Isolt Sayre and James Steward, and their adopted sons Webster and Chadwick Bolt,” the teacher explained. She pointed to each animal as she named them, “Horned Serpent, Thunderbird, Wampus, and Pukwudgie. If a house chooses you, the statues will animate accordingly. Any questions?” 

Alec raised his hand. The hall grew silent. 

“Yes, Alexander?” 

“Just Alec is fine. What happens, miss, if none of them react? We—ehrm, perhaps only I—received letter of  _ invitation _ . It didn’t guarantee acceptance… does it?”

Immediately, the room buzzed to life with murmurs coming from the students on the balconies and those behind Alec. 

The teacher eyed him to see if he was making a joke. Upon seeing his sincerity, she replied, “You are correct and incorrect, Alexa—Alec. Correct to observe that you all received letters of  _ invitation  _ but incorrect to assume that it doesn’t guarantee a place here in Ilvermorny. There is always a place for young wizards and witches in this school. Shall we begi—”

“—and what if more than one statue reacts?” Alec added, fidgeting. 

The old teacher lowered her glasses to look at him with a small half-smile on her lips. “That’s a very rare thing, Alec. I think we should wait as see should an occasion arise. Now, let’s begin.” 

One by one, she called out students’ names and they were sorted into houses. Every student was asked to step in the middle of the Gordian Knot to await one of the statues to come to life—the gems on the Hornes Serpent’s head glowed, the Thunderbird flapped its wings with a mighty gust of air, the Wampus’ roar vibrated the whole room, and the Pukwudgie aimed its bow and arrow to the heavens. 

When Alec’s turn came, no glow like the previous students emanated from the middle that was supposed to travel to the statues. Another wave of whispers started and, for the longest time, none of the animals animated to life. Poor Alec had tears burning at the back of his eyes. He felt completely and utterly humiliated. All his greatest fears about being rejected resurfaced with vengeance. 

“Don’t worry, Alexander!” A voice shouted from the balcony. “Sometimes they take awhile!”

Alec opened his eyes in search for the voice. His eyes searched through the shadowy darkness. He spun himself dizzy with the search. Finally, amidst all the prying eyes, he saw eyes of emerald and gold staring back at him. His magic flooded out from his very core, down to the floor, all the way to the far walls of the entrance hall. 

Gasps could be heard all around. 

Two statues came to life, stunning the crowd. It caused a ruckus from amongst the students. Even the old teacher looked baffled at the display. It seemed that Horned Serpent and the Thunderbird were fighting for  _ his _ attention. 

“Wha—what do I do?” Alec stuttered in surprise.

Every single student had an opinion. Students from both houses began chanting their house’s hymn. It was deafening. But, among all the voices, one rang out clearer than the rest.

“Choose your own path, Alexander!”

So, Alec did. 

He may be the first one to every touch the Ilvermorny house statues. His hand stroked the bird’s tail feathers in apology. Though it might have been his father’s house, he didn’t feel it in his heart that he could truly be happy as a Thunderbird. Instead, he patted the serpent’s tale with affection. The snake unwound its tail to reveal a golden pin with the Horned Serpent insignia. 

Alec clasped it on the robe’s left breast near the heart before climbing up the spiral stairs to joined the rest of his newly sorted peers. It wasn’t Gryffindor nor was it Hogwarts but, for the first time in his life, he finally felt like he found a place where he belonged. 

**Author's Note:**

> ANNOUNCEMENT: I am moving to Ecuador for a couple of months. Any recommendations on what to do there? 
> 
> ***
> 
> If you have a prompt or an idea, you can [INSPIRE ME](http://arh581958.tumblr.com/submit) on tumblr. Or [TALK TO ME](http://arh581958.tumblr.com/ask)~
> 
> As always, **kudos/comments/bookmarks** are all appreciated by this author. I take comments as extra-kudos and I _do_ read the bookmark tags (some are really fun).


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